A Mess To Be Made
by Jess Rae
Summary: When Greg meets up with an old crush, what feelingsand secretswill be revealed?
1. Not Sure Yet

**Title**: A Mess To Be Made

**Author**: Jess (Penname: Jess Rae; Formally: Jessica-Rae Szmanda)

**Genre**: CSI

**Summary**: When Greg meets up with an old crush, what feelings--and secrets--will be revealed?

**Main Characters**: Greg Sanders, Luca Newman, Natalee Bartlet, Nick Stokes

**Author's Note**: So, I haven't written an fan fiction in…forever. Literally. But, I've been pretty bored and my friend from home Kayla (Penname: jocelynrose) suggested I start a new one. So…here I am! Inspiration from the music of The Format (Borrowed the title from them!) and Kayla, of course. R & R & all that good stuff. New chapter posted every Wednesday by midnight, yeah.

* * *

_Chapter One:  
Not Sure Yet  
_

When Luca left she didn't know what was going to happen. But, when did happen wasn't expected at all.

"Luca?"

She didn't stop because she was sure whoever it was, they weren't looking for her. She didn't know anyone in Las Vegas. She kept walking and she heard someone running towards her now.

"Luca Newman!"

She spun around. A man stopped in front of her.

"Luca, it's me!"

Luca looked at him, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Greg Sanders, Livingston High's Science Club…."

"Greg! Greg! Oh, my gosh! How have you been?"

"I'm good. You--you look great," he said.

She paused a second. "Well, thanks. I guess I'll see you later?" Luca started to walk away.

"Luca, wait."

She turned around again. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to do something--tomorrow, maybe? Catch up, you know?"

"Um…."

Greg looked at her, hopefully.

"Yeah, okay. I think I should have a gap in my schedule," she announced.

"Great! Just give me a call, okay?" He wrote his number on a piece of paper from her purse and they both went their separate ways.

* * *

Luca sat at the end of the hotel room bed. Silence filled the bright room as she fiddled with her cell phone. She tossed it towards the head board and grabbed a pillow, chickening out. She turned on the television and flipped through the channels. She wasn't sure if she wanted to answer any questions about why she was in Las Vegas, what had she been doing since high school. Blah blah blah.

Unfortunately, try as she might, avoiding Greg was nearly impossible.

The room phone rang half way through a movie which Luca wasn't really all that interested in. She hadn't given her number out to anyone; she moved cautiously toward it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Newman," the desk clerk said. "There's a man on the phone for you, a Greg Sanders?"

She was so shocked, she couldn't say anything.

"Miss?"

"Okay, put him through," Luca said. "Hello?"

"Luca, hi," he said. "I don't mean to stalk you, but…there's this thing going on and I wanted to know if you wanted to go. And it's kind of important if I know you're coming right away."

"Okay?"

He paused.

"What's the thing?"

"Okay, actually, I'm stalking you. I'm really sorry."

She laughed a little. "Well, how about dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yeah," he said. "Sounds great. I'll pick you up around six."

"Okay," she agreed. "I'm at the--" she stopped short. "How did you know where I was staying?"

"I can explain tomorrow."

"Maybe I should walk to this dinner," she suggested, laughing.

"I promise I'm safe."

"I bet."

* * *

Luca eased herself into the passenger side of Greg's sedan and shut the door.

"Hey," she said. "So, where are we going?"

"Do you like Italian?"

She nodded.

"So, what have you been doing since high school?"

She didn't want to tell the truth, that she had gotten a bachelors degree at UCLA in astrophysics but didn't have a steady job and her parents reluctantly paid for her apartment. She told him about the degree and lied saying she worked for the government.

"Why are you in Vegas?"

"What's with all the questions!" She laughed. "What are you doing now?"

"I work in the city; I'm a crime scene investigator."

"No kidding," she said, impressed.

Her phone rang suddenly. She looked at it, he looked at her. She silenced it. "Sorry about that."

"Are you on the run from the law?" he asked with a laugh.

"Something like that."

* * *

"How did you find where I was staying anyway?"

Greg explained something about her social class and calling every hotel he thought Luca would be able to afford until he found the right one. She was a little freaked out.

"This is basically my job," he said, chuckling a little.

"So, how is that anyway? Your job."

"It's interesting. I love it." He smiled. She did as well until he asked about her job.

"It's…you know, it's good," Luca told him, nodding.

"Do you still live in California?"

She nodded. "For now, anyway."

"Oh?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm just kind of…." she trailed off as the waiter passed out their food. "But, how's your mom and dad?"

"They're great," Greg said. "Your sister?"

She shrugged. Luca and her sister never talked anymore. "Good. Why? You got a crush on her still?" She laughed half-heartedly.

He blushed a little and laughed, too. "No, I--I was just wondering."

It was silent for a while.

"You know, you really do look great," he said. "Different, but so much the same."

She gave him a half-smile. "You look the same."

He laughed. "Well, thanks. I still look like that nerd in high school?"

Luca corrected herself and smiled, "The same…in a good way."

* * *

"Where the fuck are you, Lu?" Luca's roommate Natalee asked on one of the twenty messages she'd left on Luca's voicemail while she and Greg were out.

Luca considered calling back, but was too tired.

"Do I need to fucking tag you with a tracking anklet to know where you are?" Luca finally got to the end of the messages and shut her phone off for the night. Afraid someone else would find her, she took the room phone off the hook as well. She laid down and waited to fall asleep but it never came so she called Natalee back instead.

"Luca!"

"Nat," she said.

"Where are you!"

"Calm down, Natalee. I'm in Las Vegas," Luca told her.

"You just woke up and decided you needed to go to Nevada?"

She thought about it for a second. "Pretty much."

"You--you're fucking nuts, Luca."

"This is true."

"I'm driving down to get you," Natalee announced.

Luca sighed. "Nat, please don't, okay?"

"Well, what are you going to do in Las Vegas?"

"I'm not sure yet."


	2. Getting Out Of Here

**A.N. --** 63 hits as of ten minutes ago and no reviews. I want to knowwhat you guys thinkof the story. Does it suck? Okay! Tell me!

Anyway, I was originally going to post a new chapter every week, but realizing that would take 20 weeks (Ahh!), I decided against it. New timeline: New chapter each day sometime before midnight.

* * *

_Chapter Two:  
Getting Out of Here_

"Natalee, seriously," Luca begged her not to come to Las Vegas after her.

Natalee never listened to anyone. She banged on the door like it was a police bust and she was someone special.

"Damn, Nat," Luca said, opening the door. "You're going to wake up the whole hotel."

It was six in the morning and neither had slept in what seemed like forever. They laid on separate sides of the bed, too exhausted to fight anymore.

"Why did you leave?"

"I'm sick of sucking my parents dry," Luca explained.

"Really? I would never get tired of that."

Luca laughed softly. "They're pretty tired of it, too."

"Your agent's in California," Natalee reminded her.

"I'm kind of sick of trying to do the whole singer thing, too."

Nat sat up quickly. "Lu, no. You can't give up!"

"I've already made up my mind."

"So that's not why you came to Vegas? To sing?"

Luca laughed. "No, my piece of shit car broke down a half mile from here."

* * *

They both woke up when Luca's phone went off around two in the afternoon.

"Where is it?" They ran around the room trying to follow the sound until Natalee found it and answered.

"Nat!" Luca objected.

"No, this is Natalee, Luca's roommate…. Greg?" She covered the phone. "Who is Greg?"

"A guy, Nat."

"No shit?" She rolled her eyes. "No…she's--we're in Vegas still. Uh huh, hold on a second." She covered the phone again. "He wants to see you this afternoon."

"No," Luca said.

"Who _is_ this guy? And…how did you meet him so quickly?"

"I'll explain later. Tell him I'll call him back," Luca ordered.

Nat shrugged and kept chatting it up with Greg. "Where are you?" "Where were you planning to take her?"

"Natalee, seriously," Luca whined. "Off. The. Phone."

"Yeah, she's bitching me out. Bye." Natalee hung up. "Yes, dear?"

"Okay, you want to know the story, I'll tell you the story."

"Great--but let's order some room service first," she suggested.

* * *

"What else do you want?"

"Chocolate ice cream," Luca said. "With whipped cream."

"Okay, so that's two hamburgers, three orders of French fries, a pepperoni pizza, and two orders of chocolate ice cream with whipped cream?" the man on the phone asked over the speakerphone.

"Yeah," Natalee said.

Luca laughed. "Shit."

"How are you paying for this?" Natalee asked after hanging up the phone.

"My parents' MasterCard," she said with a laugh.

"So much for sucking your parents dry!"

Luca shrugged. They waited for the food to come until Luca started the story.

"Greg's this kid from high school I know. He graduated two years before me with Morgan. And, oh my God, he had the biggest crush on her."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, duh," Natalee said after swallowing a bite of cheeseburger. "Who doesn't have a crush on your sister? She's fucking hot!"

Luca rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he was in science club with me."

"Fucking losers." Natalee laughed.

"How do you teach pre-K with a mouth like yours, please tell me."

Natalee shrugged. "It's not that damn bad."

"Can I continue?"

"Please do."

"I've always kind of liked him, too. But, I was the awkward little sister…."

"And you had no boobs," Natalee reminded her.

"How would you?"

"Oh, I've seen pictures," she said, nodding.

Luca rolled her eyes. "Stop interrupting. The crush is irrelevant anyway; he was so caught up with Morgan."

Luca went through the events of the night before exactly as they had played out in her head a million times since Greg dropped her off.

"What, no kiss?"

"I'm ignoring you," Luca announced. "It was the most awkward thing ever. He kept telling me how good I look. Just…awkward."

"You do look good. Now--with boobs."

"I don't know," Luca said. "I just feel like he called today because of Morgan."

"How did he get your number?"

"He asked for it, I gave it to him," she said.

Natalee looked at her with French fries in hand. "You don't want to see him again, but you gave him your number?"

Luca shrugged. "I don't know what I was thinking. But right now, I think I need more ice cream."

* * *

"What are you going to do? You can't just sit in this room forever. He'll find you again," Natalee said, laughing.

"It's not that funny; he's a stalker!"

"Well, what _are_ you going to do?"

Luca shrugged.

"Your parents are going to cut you off for good if they find out you ran away."

"I didn't run away. I'm a grown woman, not a teenager."

"A grown woman without any of her own money. Come back to California," Natalee urged.

Luca thought for a second. "I can't leave my car."

"This is bullshit. I need to get back. _Some_ of us have jobs," Natalee said. "You have two choices: stay here and live in a box or come back to California with me. I'm going to take a shower when I'm done, you had better have made up your mind."

"Ohh, an ultimatum. I'm so scared."

Natalee rolled her eyes and walked into the bathroom.

When she heard the water running, Luca grabbed her purse and keys and left the room. Not sure where she was going.

Half way down the street Greg called her again.

"Hello?"

"Are you busy right now?"

She looked around. "Kind of, why?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to do something, but that's okay."

She couldn't figure out why she still had feelings for him, but she did. "Actually, I'm almost done. Can you give me a half hour?"

"Yeah--yeah, sure."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Luca asked, making sure her phone was off in case Natalee called. If she didn't answer, she knew Nat wouldn't leave Vegas.

"It's a surprise."

She smiled as he lead her into Caesars Palace and to the aquarium.

"This is incredible," she said of the exotic fish.

"Isn't it?" He smiled at the fish. "I remember you had a thing for fish; you took care of the fish in the science lab."

"You remember that?" She blushed.

Greg nodded. He looked at her. "You have some hair…." He pulled some brown hair out of her earring.

"Thanks," she said, not looking at the fish anymore.

"Do you want to maybe get out of here?"


	3. The End?

_Chapter Three:  
The End?_

"Do you want something to drink?"

"A water would be great," Luca said.

Greg disappeared into the kitchen and she sat on his lumpy couch. He came back and handed her a glass. "It's tap."

"That's fine," she said, taking a sip. "Can I ask you a question?"

Greg nodded.

"Why were you so in love with Morgan?"

Greg looked at her then looked away. "I don't know." He laughed. "She's pretty, smart…."

She nodded, looking away, too. "Yeah…she is."

Greg looked back at her, but Luca didn't look at him. They sat in silence for a while.

"This doesn't feel right," Luca said. "I think you should take me back."

"What--why?"

Luca shrugged. "I feel like you're just sitting here with me because of who my sister is."

"Well, I'm not, but if you want to go…," he said.

"I do."

He nodded and took their glasses into the kitchen. She stood by the door until he came out and lead her to his car. She pulled out her cell phone from her purse and the phone beeped once, the only sound in the car.

"Luca, I was in a damn car accident! I fucking hate this place. Oh, and we're stuck here forever because both our cars suck! What the fuck? I'm two blocks from the hotel, I'll be here for a while. Oh yeah, no one was hurt, but I might jump the guy I hit. He's so fucking--" The message ended.

"My roommate was in an accident," Luca told Greg. "She's two blocks from the hotel."

He nodded, but said nothing. She thanked Greg for the ride when they got to the crash site and jumped out. She ran over to Natalee.

"What happened?"

"This asshole rear ended me," she said, pointing to said asshole: a tall, handsome guy. "Isn't he so fucking--?"

"Yes, he's hot, Natalee," Luca cut her off, distracted by the fact that Greg's car hadn't moved, in fact he'd parked and was walking towards the man that hit Natalee. "What is he doing?"

"Who is that?"

"Guess who," Luca challenged her.

"Greg?"

"Ding ding ding."

"Well, it looks like they know each other pretty well," Natalee observed. "Maybe he's gay, hmm?"

"They're just talking, Nat," Luca said, rolling her eyes. "We have to get out of here."

"It's going to be a few days for the cars to be fixed," Natalee said.

"Got room for some room service?"

"Always."

* * *

"The mechanic called," Natalee said after two days of Pay-Per-View and room service and sick days.

"And?"

"We can pick up my car today," she said.

"Great. I'm excited to get out of this city," Luca said after a sigh.

And that was it, they picked up their clothes and packed their bags into the car and the adventure, they were sure, was over.

* * *

Luca's phone rang a couple times during the trip, she finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick."

"I was in Las Vegas," she said.

"Why?" her mother asked.

She paused. "Why not?"

"Your father and I want to talk to you when you get home."

"Of course, Mommie Dearest," she said, hanging up.

"Man, you need a job," Natalee said.

"Tell me about it." Luca said. "I don't know, I guess I could fire my agent…" She knew Natalee didn't like that idea.

"Lu, you can't quit your dream!"

She shrugged. "I need to use my degree."

"Lu," Natalee said. "I swear to God!"

Part of Luca hoped Greg would call and the other part wanted him to follow her to California. She smiled at the thought, then stopped, thinking about how ridiculous the idea was.

* * *

When Natalee shook her awake they were already parked outside their apartment.

"You owe me."

"Yeah, right," Luca said. "I didn't tell you to come get me."

Natalee rolled her eyes. "You ungrateful bitch."

"Get used to it," Luca said, unfazed, as she got out of the car. She pulled her bags up the stairs and into 2C. She didn't want the adventure to be over. She threw her bags into her room and walked past Natalee, down the stairs, and to the corner to wait for the bus, even though every bone in her body told her not to.

* * *

"You have to pick me up," she told her mom.

"Why?"

"My car's in Las Vegas."

"What?"

"I'll explain when I get there, just get me," Luca said.

"Okay, where are you?"

She told her and waited a while before her father picked her up.

"Hey, daddy."

"Mom's pissed."

"I know," Luca said. "She's always pissed."

Luca had always been a daddy's girl.

"Hmm…that's true," her dad said. There was a pause. "Don't tell her I said that."

Luca laughed. "I won't."

Luca and her dad shared their dark hair and skin and green eyes; Morgan had their mom's genes, including the bitchy one, Luca thought.

"What happened this weekend?"

"A lot," Luca summed up.

Her dad nodded and left it at that, her mom wouldn't be as lenient.

They walked into the house and sat next to each other on the floral-print couch while Luca's mom Flo walked in and sat on the matching chair.

"Start from the beginning," was all Flo said.

Luca obeyed and included every detail.

Flo didn't buy it.

"Forget your monthly allowance. You are on your own," Flo announced.

Luca's dad, Barnard looked at Flo and then to Luca. Luca kissed her dad goodbye and walked the three miles home.

* * *

Greg knew he needed to do something, but he didn't know what or how to go about doing that something.

So, he worked. And worked. Finally, he mustered enough strength to pick up the phone, but not enough to dial the ten-digit number.

"What wrong with you?" Warrick said finally.

"What?"

"You've been in a funk for weeks now."

Greg shrugged. "I'm fine, really."


	4. Not Yet

_Chapter Four:  
Not Yet_

Luca's career was growing and not the waitressing one, either.

"They love this stuff," Luca said as Natalee leafed through one of her many notebooks filled with songs. "This Greg stuff. The producer is in love with it."

"I can see why, they're the most passionate songs you've written," Natalee said reading one.

Some of the songs were about liking him, some about hating him, but they all had one something in common: Greg.

"I love it," Natalee said, smiling. "They're amazing, seriously."

Luca never took criticism from friends too seriously; she felt as if they were just saying her writing was good as to not hurt her feelings. But these were different, she loved every single one.

* * *

Luca was innocently sitting in her pajamas on the couch eating a bowl of Life cereal and watching a news show.

"Luca!" Natalee bum-rushed into the living room. "It's been one month to the day."

Luca looked at her, mid-chew. "What?"

"Las Vegas."

Luca looked back at the TV, disinterested.

"And I had a dream," Natalee announced.

Natalee's had many dreams, none of them meant much to Luca, but she loved to share them anyway. "I think the problem with your car--it was a sign!"

Luca rolled her eyes and turned up the television to drown her out.

"Seriously," Natalee shouted.

Luca was over Greg, she had her eye on the new guy in 2B, of course she had to write two notebooks full of songs to completely get over him.

"We need to go back," Natalee said.

"No."

"Do you seriously think it was coincidence?"

"What?"

"Your car breaking down right outside of Vegas."

Luca thought for a while, not sure what she thought. "Yes."

"Yes you'll go back?"

"No. Yes, I think it's a coincidence." She got up and put her bowl in the sink. "I am over Greg." It was the first time Luca said it out loud and it felt good. She thought.

* * *

Greg picked the phone up. Today was the day, he promised himself he would call. He fell asleep on the couch, phone in hand instead. He jumped up when it rang.

"Man, we're going out," Nick said. "You coming?"

He needed a drink. "Yeah."

"Meet us at the bar."

"Okay," Greg said. He knew exactly what bar Nick was talking about, a less than classy place they met up with Warrick at every so often. He got in the car and drove to the other side of town willingly, had three or four shots willingly, had the beers willingly, and in the end, he dialed her number willingly. But intoxicated.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is--"

"Greg, who are you dialing?" Nick grabbed the phone from Greg. "Greg's drunk, sorry about that."

Greg tried to take the phone away from Nick but to no avail. He finally gave up and let Nick have the phone.

"I love you," he shouted.

"Oh, he says he loves you," Nick said into the phone. "Bye, Mrs. Sanders."

Natalee looked at Luca, on the floor. "Who's on my phone?" she slurred. When Natalee didn't answer, she shouted it again.

"Shut up, Lu," Natalee sighed. This was too much for her to handle. She knew Luca wasn't over Greg and she knew 2B was gay, and now she knew Greg liked Luca back. At least when he was wasted.

* * *

Now Greg had no choice. He needed to call, at least to apologize. It took a good twenty minutes to dial.

It rang three times. He hoped she wouldn't answer.

"Hello?" No answer. He couldn't speak. "Hello?"

"Luca?" He choked out.

"Who is this?"

"Greg."

Now she didn't answer.

"I just wanted to apologize for last night, but it was the truth."

She still didn't answer; she didn't know what happened.

"I'm sorry I bothered you again."

* * *

Luca couldn't wait until after three for an explanation, she took three buses to the school that Natalee worked at.

Nat looked shocked as she saw Luca waving frantically outside her classroom door. She let her in, thank God her afternoon class hadn't arrived yet.

"What happened last night?"

Natalee looked at Luca. "Well…Winslow's gay."

"Winslow?"

"2B."

Luca shook her head. "With Greg, I mean."

Natalee looked at her with fake confusion. "What do you mean?"

Luca walked out, dissatisfied. Something obviously happened.

Natalee walked out and grabbed her shoulder. "Look, I can't lie to you. Something happened."

"Well, what?"

"You need to talk to him about that," Natalee said.

Luca shook her head. "I can't do that. You know that. I--I just can't talk to him. He'll know."

"Know what?"

"I'm not over him yet."


	5. The Truth

_Chapter Five:  
The Truth_

Luca hadn't come out of her room in days. Everyone came by to try to cheer her up, but the door was locked. The only reason Natalee knew she was alive was because she heard her creep to the bathroom in the middle of the night when she thought Nat was asleep.

Bernard sat outside her door talking to her though it was without response almost all day. He brought her food everyday and set it by her door and when he left for a few minutes and came back, it had disappeared into her room.

He'd probably never know it but she was so grateful for everything Bernard had done for her. Not just during this time of crisis, but her whole life.

One night when Luca had gone into the bathroom for her 2 a.m. shower, Natalee knew she needed to take action. She went into Luca's room through the open door and grabbed her cell phone. She searched rapidly for Greg's number but with no luck. Then she remembered deleting it for Luca one drunk night in Vegas.

She took even more desperate measures the next morning. She knew she was stepping on enemy turf, but it was her only hope. "Hey, Bernard."

He walked in with some McDonald's breakfast. "Hi, Natalee."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure," he said, pouring coffee into his already empty Styrofoam McDonald's cup.

"Do you have Morgan's number?"

He nodded and rattled off a San Francisco number. "What's your plan?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, but it involves a lot of phone calls."

* * *

"Mrs. Sanders?"

"Yes?"

"You don't know me, but my roommate went to high school with Greg," Natalee said. "Her name's Luca New--."

"Luca. Sure, I know Luca. Such a sweet girl. And her sister Morgan," Greg's mom said. "She was a pretty one. Gregory had such a crush on Luca, though."

"You're kidding."

"No, he never stopped talking about her," she explained.

Natalee smiled. "Well, this is great! I was just wondering if I could get Greg's number in Las Vegas. It's kind of complicated, but I'm sure Greg will tell you about it."

"Oh," she said with a sigh. "He hardly ever calls anymore."

Natalee frowned.

"But, the number," Mrs. Sanders said.

Natalee wrote it down and thanked Greg's mom. She jumped off the counter and shouted. "Fuck, yeah!" She looked toward Luca's door and smiled.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Greg, this is Natalee."

Silence.

"Luca's roommate."

"Oh, hey," he said, unenthusiastically.

"That night when you thought you professed your love for Luca--if it was real--"

"I've been thinking about it and it is real," Greg said, smiling.

"Irrelevant. I was the one on the phone, she doesn't know what you said. But, you need to tell her, I can't do it for you. This is important," Natalee said. "She…" Natalee was going to say "likes you, too," but stopped.

"She what?"

"Is depressed," Natalee said. She didn't want to reveal that either. "I'm begging you to do something. Her career's taking off and she needs to start working again."

Greg paused for a second. "Okay. I'll come back to California."

"Holy shit. Amazing!" Natalie couldn't help but shout. "And call your mother, she worries about you."

* * *

"Hey, Mr. Newman," Greg said to the man on the floor.

"Greg Sanders?" He struggled to stand up. "How have you been? And…what are you doing here?"

Greg looked towards Luca's door. "Can I?"

"You can try," Bernard said hopefully.

Greg knocked on the door lightly. "Luca--it's Greg." He heard the door to the apartment door close as Bernard gave them more privacy. Luca walked to her bedroom door, not sure if she should open it or not.

"I just wanted to say that I like you. A lot. I can't even function…it's kind of ridiculous. Ridiculous that I've waited this long to tell you," he said. "I have always liked you. Not Morgan. You're the smart, beautiful one. I mean, she's pretty and smart, but you-- Look, the point is I was always over your house because of _you_."

Luca opened the door a crack. "Are you being serious?"

"No, I came all the way from Las Vegas too pull this extravagant prank," Greg said, smiling. "Of course I'm serious."

"Why didn't you do something about it in high school?"

"By the time I had stopped kidding myself and realized I _did_ like you, I also realized I was going to college in a few years, leaving you here." Greg looked at her. "And two years is a big difference when you're sixteen and eighteen."

Luca nodded. "I guess so…. But now it doesn't matter what we think."

"…Why?"

"We have our own lives now. We can't just quit our jobs and run away."

"We can't?" Greg asked.

There was a pause. She wished.

Luca tried not to smile at the thought. "No."

* * *

Luca and Greg settled on lunch at Roscoe's Chicken 'n' Waffles with Nick and Natalee before they would part ways. Nick was in the hallway with Bernard when Luca and Greg finally came out.

Bernard gave Luca an involuntary hug. "You need some sun, you're so pale from being inside that room," he quipped. "You feel better?"

Luca didn't, but she said she did anyway. "Thank you," she whispered. The poor retired man could now go back to his normal day, relaxing, golfing, and taking care of Flo's temper tantrums.

"Where are we going?" Nick asked from the driver's seat.

Luca gave him directions to the school Natalee worked at, they walked in and waited in the hall for her class. That is until Natalee noticed the hot guy in the hallway. The hot guy that smashed into her car. She ran outside. "What is going on?"

"This is Nick, Greg's co-worker," Luca said. "We're going to lunch and wanted to take you out."

"This--this guy," she stammered, "is the guy that rear-ended me!"

Greg and Luca looked at Nick and then at Natalee. She shook her head and turned to go back into the room. "I can't leave the kids alone."

"Nat, I need to talk to you--alone," Luca said.

Greg spoke up, "We can watch the kids…can we do that?"

"Probably not legally but if no one finds out…I guess it's fine," Natalee said, being dragged down the hall by Luca.

"What's going on? Tell me what happened already!" Natalee shouted.

"He's leaving. They are leaving," she said. "That's it. There's nothing else to it. We can't do anything about this. This is my dream--here in California. His job is in Nevada."

Natalee grabbed her by the shoulders. "Luca, listen to yourself."

Luca looked from the floor to Natalee, tears in her eyes. "You're the one that says I can't give up on my dream, right? And he loves his job. This relationship is impossible."

Natalee squeezed Luca's shoulders. "We need to get back." Luca nodded and followed her into the classroom.

Greg was being chased by a little red-headed boy around the circle. He finally tripped and the boy tagged him, with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm so done with duck, duck, goose," he said, getting up and pouting. He started to go over to Luca and Natalee.

The boy shook his head and grabbed his wrist. "Not so fast! Into the cookie jar!" He pushed him into the middle of the circle and Greg sat on the floor, smiling at Luca.

Luca joined him in the "cookie jar."

"So, here we are in the cookie jar," he said.

She laughed. "So we are."

They didn't say anything for a while.

"Is this forever? This separation?" he asked.

"It's not a separation, we were never together," she reminded him.

Greg thought about this for a second. He also thought about how he could move back home to California. He was the one that screwed it up during high school in the first place.

"You never know what's going happen." She shrugged. "Maybe someday," she said with false hope.

* * *

Natalee and Nick hit it off right away.

"Do you guys really have to leave?" Natalee asked. "The least you can do for damaging my car is stay the night."

"Stop flirting," Luca said, smiling. But stopped when it sunk in that they _were_ leaving. Now. "So…that's it. I guess we'll see you guys, you know, when one of us decides to get eloped or we get the urge to gamble or something."

Everyone was silent. It was harsh, but true and there was nothing any of them could do and there was no point in lying anymore.


	6. Falling

_Chapter Six:  
Falling_

"I'm fucking moving to Las Vegas," Natalee announced one day after work.

It had been about a month since Greg's visit and Luca and Greg talked but never about anything serious, more about how their day was and how work--including Luca's fake government job--was going. They never said anything about them being together or anything remotely related to the future.

"What are you talking about?"

"What didn't you understand about that sentence?" Natalee remarked. "I'm fucking moving to Vegas."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Natalee asked. "What's holding me down here? Step one, I'm going to quit my job. Step two, I'm going to pack my shit up. Step three, I'm going to drive myself to fucking Las Vegas!"

"Where are you going to live?"

"Nick's."

"You guys just met! Aren't you guys jumping the gun just a little bit?" Luca asked, outraged.

"Well, you could always come and be my best roommate ever." She gave Luca a cheesy smile.

Luca's life wasn't going anywhere and talking Greg was the only thing she had to look forward to anymore. But she still had doubts.

"I need a couple of days," she said.

Natalee groaned. "Do something spontaneous! Adventurous girls get all the fun," she said, pointing to herself and smiling playfully. When Luca didn't respond, she rolled her eyes. "School ends next week Friday. Can you get me a freaking decision by then?"

Luca nodded slowly.

* * *

Natalee felt it necessary to remind Luca everyday about her deadline. She made a countdown on the fridge with Post-Its and waited until Luca was in the middle of her bowl of cereal to walk into the kitchen and tear the numbers off every day.

"One day!"

Luca rolled her eyes and kept reading the newspaper.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lu," Greg said.

Luca smiled. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Hmm…nothing too much. How about you? How many days?"

"Tomorrow's the day," she said. Luca had been keeping him updated on every aspect of her life, why leave this one out?

There was a silence.

"Any idea what you're going to do?" Greg asked.

"Yeah, I've had my mind made up for a while now. Just adding a little drama to the mix."

* * *

"Time's up," Natalee said, sitting on the stool next to Luca.

"Believe me, I know," Luca said with a spoonful of Life in her mouth.

After Luca didn't say anything else, Natalee sighed. "So, don't leave me hanging!"

"You have to wait until I tell Greg," she said.

Natalee groaned. "So much for loyalty."

"Well, actually, I've known Greg longer so…."

"Whatever," Nat said.

Luca watched as Natalee walked into the bathroom to take a shower, ran around looking for clean socks to get dressed, and finally leave before calling Greg.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Greg."

"Time's up," Greg said.

"Okay, _Natalee_," Luca said, laughing.

"So?"

She didn't say anything.

"If you don't tell me right now, I'm going to jump out of a window," Greg warned. He laughed.

"I'm coming," she said, almost inaudibly.

"What?" He'd heard her, he heard the smile in her voice, but he wanted her to scream it.

"I'm coming to Las Vegas," she said, louder.

"With a little feeling, Luca!"

"I'm fucking moving to Vegas!"

* * *

They rented a U-Haul and were off.

Luca wanted to stop at every tourist attraction on the way to Vegas. Natalee started to get pissed after a half hour of driving.

"We're not stopping, Luca."

Luca decided to call Greg instead.

"We're leaving California. We just hit Nevada, Greg!"

Natalee looked at her. "I've never seen you so annoying," she said.

Luca shrugged, phone still attached to her ear. "I'm excited."

"For a girl who was so reluctant to come, you sure are making the best of this."

"I'll call you when we get to Vegas," Luca said. "Bye.

"God, this was seriously the best decision I've ever made, Nat. Thank you." Luca smiled.

"Hey, Lu?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you told him yet?" She turned her head and took her eyes off the road for a second.

Luca's face became more distraught by the second. "Do you really think I need to? I could really get a job there in astrophysics. I mean, he's not going to ask for my back taxes."

Natalee shook her head.

"The past is past, right?"

Natalee kept her eyes on the road.

"I'm fucked. Oh, shit. I can't go through with this, Nat. I'm going home."

"Luca, you're overreacting," Natalee said. "It's just one little lie, just tell him."

"You keep saying this 'tell him' stuff, but you don't understand how hard it is for me," Luca said. "You're not in this situation."

"Luca! I wouldn't be in this situation," Natalee said. "I would have told the truth."

Luca looked out the passenger's side window and then at Natalee. "If I knew I was going to be falling in love him over the next three months, I wouldn't have lied either."

Natalee looked at Luca now. "Luca! Love?" She smiled. "You love him?"

"_Falling_ is what I said, actually," she said, blushing.

Natalee rolled down her window and stuck her head out. "Luca's in love!"

"Falling," Luca corrected her again.


	7. Verbal AssKicking

_Chapter Seven:  
Verbal Ass-Kicking_

Luca's phone rang as they traveled down the strip. She knew who it was but she wasn't sure if she should answer it.

Natalee looked at her. "If you don't answer it, I will."

"Hello?"

"Hey, where are you guys now?"

"We're here," she said.

Greg smiled. "Really?"

"Yup," she said. "We're going to the apartment right now."

"I can't wait to see you," he said, softly.

"Well, are you busy?"

"No," he said.

"Because I think we need to talk," Luca said.

Greg was silent for a few seconds. "Okay," he said, nervously. He didn't want to lose Luca but that was the first thing that came to mind. "Can you come over in an hour?" The sooner, the better.

"Yeah," she said before hanging up.

Luca looked at Natalee. "What am I going to say?"

"Practice on me," Nat said. "While we bring some boxes up. Okay?"

"Are you serious?"

"It'll help, seriously."

Luca walked up the stairs without saying anything for first few trips, it was their first break when she spoke up. They sat on the living room floor of their new apartment.

"Well, I guess I'd say….God this is awkward. Okay. 'Greg,….'" She took a breath. "'I know this is going to be so weird, but I have to come clean about something. I don't work for the government. I don't even have a real job. I thought I was going to have a CD--I'm a singer, see--but, I don't know what's going to happen now. Actually…I've written a lot of songs about you.'"

There was silence.

"That's it," Luca said.

"Well, go tell him," Natalee said with an encouraging smile.

Luca was paralyzed. "I--I can't."

"I'll drive you, okay? Would that help?" Nat asked, rubbing Luca's back.

Luca took a deep breath. "No, I need to do this myself."

* * *

So, she told him. She didn't know what was going to happen, but at least it was the truth and at least it was out.

He didn't say anything for a second. When it finally soaked in, he couldn't do anything but walk away.

"Greg?" Luca followed him towards the kitchen.

"Luca," he said. "Please stop. I can't handle this. This whole time I never lied to you."

"I didn't know this was going to happen," Luca said, pointing quickly to him and then herself. "If I did, this conversation wouldn't be happening."

"It _shouldn't_ be happening," Greg said. "I can't believe you'd lie to me. How do I know you're not lying about everything else you've said to me?"

"Because I'm telling you I didn't."

"Well, I don't know if I can believe you."

Luca left. What else was there for her to do now? She already managed to botch up her life and it was only her first day in Las Vegas.

* * *

A few days of Luca locking herself in her room again and Natalee knew she had to save her best friend again.

She banged on Greg's apartment door until he finally opened it.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked as she burst through his door.

"A better question: Why the fuck are you an asshole?"

Greg looked at her, puzzled. "I'm sorry, _I'm_ an asshole?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Natalee, _she_ lied to _me_!"

"About her job, who the fuck gives a damn about a job?" Natalee asked, outraged.

"It's still a lie."

"It's not like she's a professional ax murderer. She was trying to impress you," Natalee reasoned. "Seriously, would you have been interested if she was just a waitress?"

Greg didn't answer for a second. "Yes. That doesn't matter to me. Honesty matters to me."

"Whatever," Natalee said. "I still think you're an asshole. She's depressed again; I hope you think about that when you break some other girl's heart. Poor Luca's loved you forever. And you never lied to her?"

"What do you mean?"

"You went through high school lying to everyone--even yourself--about your crush on Luca," she reminded him. "And you knew she liked you."

"She is a grown woman now," Greg said. "I was eighteen."

"Eighteen is pretty adult, I think," Natalee noted.

"She should know better."

* * *

Natalee felt bad knowing that she had to leave Luca alone in the apartment, but she needed to find a job.

"I left some orange juice and a bowl of Life out here for you," she told Luca before her first interview.

What she didn't expect was the cereal to still be there when she returned.

"Luca?" She banged on the door. "Luca! Open up, you're seriously scaring me!"

"Natalee."

She turned and Luca was in the hall, out of her room. "What's going on?"

"Greg picked me up before you left, we went to breakfast," Luca said. "To talk."

Natalee nodded. "So?"

Luca smiled. "He forgave me, Nat." She shrugged. "I guess I owe this all to you."

"Well, I'm proud of you, Luca," Natalee said.

"Why?"

"You told him the truth even though you were afraid to," she said.

Luca shrugged.

"I did do a pretty good job of verbally kicking his ass, though," she said with pride.


	8. The Set Up

_Chapter Eight:  
The Set Up_

"Don't you people have anything better to do than sit on my couch and attack each other? You guys are depressing me."

Greg and Luca were all over each other.

"It's not just your couch," Luca reminded her between Greg's kisses.

"Well, you do have a room, Lu," Natalee told her.

"So do you," Greg said.

Natalee put her hands on her hips. "You do not have clearance to enter into this fight; you don't live here."

Greg shrugged and went on with his business.

"Can we have an emergency _apartment_ meeting?" Natalee asked.

"Can it wait fourty-five minutes?"

"No!"

Greg rolled his eyes. "My apartment next time?"

"Your place is always a mess," Luca noted.

"But it doesn't have Natalee."

"I'm right here, asshole," Natalee reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. When you didn't talk for a whole three seconds, I thought you hadleft."

"Did I mention I _hate_ this guy?" She crossed her arms. "I propose nothing past first base on public domain. Couch, kitchen, bathroom."

"Oops," Greg joked.

"You're kidding me right?"

"You might not want to eat on the kitchen table anytime soon," he said.

"Holy shit," Natalee said. "You are kidding me, right?"

Luca couldn't keep a straight face. "Yes, he is kidding. You guys are like children. We're going out to dinner anyway, okay, Nat? You want something?"

"A cute waiter would be nice."

"I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Do you think you could hook Natalee and Nick back up?" Luca asked hopefully.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No! She hasn't met anyone since she's moved here," she said.

"Neither have you," Greg told her.

"I don't need to; I have you and Natalee. That's all I need," she said.

"The last time I sent someone up on a blind date…well, that never happened, actually. But, that's because I know it would be tragic, therefore I've never attempted it."

"It's not a blind date," Luca told him. "They met each other in California!"

Greg looked at his spaghetti. "I can talk to him but I can't make any promises."

* * *

So, he did it, but he couldn't just ask Nick if he wanted to go on a date with Natalee. No, where's the challenge in that?

"I don't want to go Luca's place to watch a movie with you guys," Nick said.

"What? Why?"

"I've heard what you guys do in movies." Nick grimaced. "Lindsey with the Disney movie. A Disney movie! That's just wrong."

"That's so not true. I wouldn't do that in front of Lindsey."

"Fine," Nick gave in. "Six?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you want me there anyway?" Nick asked, suspiciously.

Greg thought for a second. "Because I love you, have I ever told you that?"

"No, and please don't say it again."

* * *

"Did you set it up?"

"Of course I did," Luca said.

"Six?"

"Yes!"

Mr. Knox sighed loudly. Mrs. Knox looked at him.

"Oh, Frank," she said. "It's cute, they're setting their friends up. Do you remember how we met?"

"You don't let me forget."

"Thanks again for letting us use your apartment as a look-out," Luca said as Greg looked across the hall through the peep-hole.

"Of course, dear," Mrs. Knox said. "Will you two be staying for dinner?"

"No, we have plans. But, thanks."

"Here she comes," Greg said.

"Oh, man," Luca said. "This is so exciting, let me see."

Greg moved out of the way for her.

She watched Natalee unlock her door while she covered her mouth as she squealed with delight.

A few minutes pasted and there was Nick.

"This is the best idea you've ever had, mark my word," Luca said.

"Better than my idea for the science club's terrarium?"

"A million times better."

* * *

Natalee looked at the table set for two, complete with candle light. "You're kidding me. They bailed on me so they could eat some romantic dinner together?" She asked aloud. "Perfect. And now I've got nowhere to go." She rolled her eyes and headed to her room as there was a knock on the door.

She walked over to it, puzzled. She looked through the peep-hole before unlatching the three locks.

"Nick?"

"Natalee?" Nick smiled. "I didn't know you were in Vegas."

"Yeah. Yeah, I am." She couldn't help but grin either. "Come in." She stepped aside as Nick stepped in.

Nick looked at the table. "What's going on here? Where's Luca and Greg?"

Natalee paused for a second. "I think we've just been set up," she pointed out with a nervous laugh.


	9. Doubts

_Chapter Nine:  
Doubts_

"So, I did good?"

"You did great, Greg," Luca said, squeezing his hand as they walked up to the apartment after their dinner.

"I did, didn't I?" He unlocked the door for her but soon closed it again.

Luca looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"They need a little more privacy; they're making out on the couch."

Luca laughed.

"Damn. Talk about a hypocrite."

"Whatever, it's cute!" She smiled, scrunching her nose.

He looked at her for a few seconds, not saying anything.

"What?"

"I--"

Nick opened the door suddenly and walked out of the apartment and into the hall, passing the couple.

"Hey, guys. …Bye."

"Have fun?" Greg asked.

"Bye, Nick," Luca said.

Nick rushed down the stairs and out the complex door.

"What were you going to say?" Luca asked.

Greg shook his head. "I don't--I don't remember…."

He opened the door again to reveal Natalee, blonde hair disheveled and clothes wrinkled. Luca laughed.

Natalee smiled as she walked to her room, barely noticing Greg and Luca.

"Well, they hit it off, huh?"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Luca asked, starting to get angry.

"I told you, it's a surprise; I want you to meet someone."

Luca asked, "Meet them where?"

"A casino. No more questions," Greg demanded.

Luca rolled her eyes, pissed.

They pulled into a parking garage and walked in to the casino together, Greg's arm around Luca's waist.

"Where are we going?"

"Lu, seriously. You're going to see in a second."

Luca relaxed a little and started to rub the back of Greg's neck as they walked to the back of the building passed the slot machines and black-jack tables. They entered an elevator and emptied out in an unnecessarily large waiting room, deserted except for the receptionist behind a modern desk.

"Hi, we're here to see Mr. Townsend."

The receptionist nodded. "It'll be a second. Please have a seat."

She didn't pick up the phone so Luca was growing even more skeptical after a few minutes on the bland beige couch. She nervously shook her crossed legs until Greg set his hand on her knee to calm them.

A tall but otherwise average looking man finally came out into the waiting area and waved Greg and Luca to his office.

He grabbed Greg's hand first. "How are you doing?"

"Great."

"This is my girlfriend Luca Newman."

"Luca? What a beautiful name," the man said.

"Well, thank you," Luca said.

"I'm George Townsend." He led them to his desk where they sat across from him in blue high-backed chairs. "Greg told me you were looking for a job in entertainment."

Luca didn't say anything, waiting for his proposition.

"We're looking for a lounge singer."

"You're kidding."

"You're interested?"

She knew she wouldn't be singing her original songs, but at this point she didn't care. "Absolutely."

* * *

"I got a job," Luca told a disinterested Natalee as she and Greg walked into the door. "I'm a lounge singer at a casino!"

Natalee nodded from the couch.

"What's wrong with you?" Greg asked.

"I need to talk to Luca alone," she said.

Greg gave Luca a peck on the cheek before shrugging and leaving.

Luca sat next to Natalee.

"Would you be totally heartbroken if I moved out?"

Luca didn't say anything for a second. "Why do you want to move out? Was it something I did? I mean…."

Natalee looked at Luca solemnly.

Luca felt terrible. "What's going on, Nat?"

Suddenly Natalee smiled slightly. "I'm getting married!"

"What?"

"Nick asked me last night!"

"Shut the fuck up. This whole time I thought--I'm so happy for you!" Luca wrapped Natalee into a hug.

"Me, too." Natalee's mood changed drastically. She sighed a bit.

"What now?"

"Nothing."

"Nat."

"I just don't know if this is what I should be doing…we don't know each other that well. I think we might be moving too fast."

"Have you told him this?" Luca looked at her.

"No, I want to marry him."

"Well, if you're having doubts…."

Natalee sat in thought for a few seconds. "I love him," she said matter-of-factly. "I do."


	10. I Thought I Loved You

**A.N.**: Half way through :D Any thoughts? ...Okay, fine. Be that way. (Kidding!)

* * *

_Chapter Ten:  
I Thought I Loved You_

"Hello?"

"Luca," Bernard said.

"Hey, Dad."

"Is Natalee around?"

"No," she said with a hint of bitterness.

"Oh, I was just returning her call. She told your mother she was getting married," he informed her.

"Yup," was all Luca wanted to say about that.

Bernard didn't say anything.

"Well, I'll tell her you called," Luca said.

"Luca," he said. "That's all you have to say?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

Luca was silent.

"Luca, you can't keep your feelings inside," he said what she already knew. "Tell me what's wrong."

"It's not about the wedding or Nat and Nick. It's just that Greg and I have known each other for…basically forever and we've been seeing each other longer than Nick and Natalee and he has never even said he loved me, Dad."

"Have you told Greg about this?"

"Of course not."

"Well," he said. "Don't you think you should?"

She didn't say anything.

"Luca."

"Okay," she said, reluctantly. "I'll talk to him."

* * *

Greg pulled up next to Luca, who was already waiting on the sidewalk for him. She opened the door and got inside. She grudgingly accepted his kiss. 

"What's wrong?" he asked before pulling away from the curb.

"Nothing." This was going to be harder than she expected.

He headed to the movie theatre they frequented as Luca decided exactly what she was going to say to him and how. Greg threw the car in park and took his seatbelt off, poised to jump out of the car. When she didn't move, he brought his hand from the door handle to the steering wheel.

"Okay, Luca," he said. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes were still forward as she bit her nails.

"Luca," he said, putting his hands on her leg. "You can tell me anything, you know that."

"It's just…Natalee and Nick," she said.

He was suddenly silent.

"I…"

"I don't want to get married," he said. "I'm…sorry. I think we're too young."

She paused for a second and finally looked him in his eye. "Greg, I love you."

He didn't react.

She nodded. "That's all I wanted to know." She climbed out of the car despite his pleas for her to stay. She would have walked back to the apartment, but she knew he would follow her, so she ran into the movie theatre and told the security guard a scrawny man with spiky hair followed her to her car so she could call Natalee for a ride.

Luca watched Greg try to follow her in while the guard held him back. She didn't feel bad until the guard knocked him onto the sidewalk. She fought the urge to pick him up and walk him back to the car. He finally walked back on his own, his head hung.

Natalee pulled up to the curb and she got in, noticing that Greg's car never actually left.

"What are you looking at?" Natalee asked.

She turned her head from Greg to Natalee. "Nothing."

* * *

Greg had kept calling Luca but never got a hold of her. She wanted to talk to him, too, but was afraid of what he had to say so she immersed herself in writing new songs and booking her own gigs. She wanted to be an individual, though she loved her job: good pay with tips and free drinks from cute guys. What wasn't to like? It was a lot better than going from coffee house to coffee house wondering if they were going to listen to her that day. But, she yearned for creative freedom. 

"Greg called," Natalee informed Luca as she was about to walk out the door. Nick, who was basically living with them, looked up from the newspaper. "Fifty times."

Luca just nodded.

"You going to call him?" Nick asked, one of the few things he'd ever said to her.

"I'll try," she lied.

Natalee looked at Nick and then Luca. "You should, you know. Listen to what he has to say."

Luca shrugged. "I'll try to call him."

Natalee rolled her eyes as Luca slammed the door. She looked at Nick. "You know we need to do something, right?"


	11. Morgan

_Chapter Eleven:  
Morgan_

Greg sat on the couch, Nick and Natalee next to him. He turned to them.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

Natalee looked at him. "No," she said honestly. "But, it couldn't hurt, right?"

This was true. He'd basically hit rock bottom with Luca. Again.

"I guess it's good that she didn't lock herself in her room again," he said. "Except than it was easier to talk to her that way."

Nick looked at him now, but didn't say anything.

There was a silence for a few minutes until Luca walked into the apartment. She looked at the trio and rolled her eyes. "What the fuck is going on?"

"An intervention of sorts," Natalee answered.

Luca looked at her, confused. "I don't understand…."

"Greg wants to talk to you."

She looked at him, but not with distain. She wanted him back and she wanted to hear what he had to say.

He looked at Nick and Natalee. "Do you mind?"

They got up and walked down the hallway and into Natalee's room.

"You know they're going to listen right?" Luca asked, with a laugh.

He smiled at her, but didn't say anything.

"What? Why are you staring at me?" She sat next to him.

"I don't care if they listen, I'm just so happy to see your smile again," he said. "I just wanted to tell you that I've always loved you, I've just never known how to tell you to your face. And I wanted to be the first to say it so…I was kind of upset that you beat me to it."

"You wanted to be the first to say it?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Why didn't you say that in the car?"

"You ran away." Greg laughed.

She didn't say anything.

"I know it's kind of late, but…I love you," he said.

Luca smiled and hugged him. "I love you, too."

"Aww," Natalee said, bursting through her door.

Luca rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Greg grabbed the phone next to him on Luca's nightstand. "Hello?"

"Is…this Luca's number?"

"Yeah."

"This is Morgan. Who is this?"

Greg shot up in the bed, waking Luca up.

"Greg? Who's on the phone?"

"Greg? Sanders?" Morgan asked. "From high school? I thought you sounded familiar."

Greg didn't answer either girls.

"Hello?" Luca said after grabbing the phone from him.

"Luca, it's Morgan, I heard about Natalee and her fiancé."

Luca didn't say anything.

"What's with Greg? Where are you? And how did you find him anyway? I thought he was in Las Vegas," she said.

"He is, _we_ are."

"What? No one told me you were in Vegas," she said. "I should come visit Greg…and you."

Luca looked at Greg.

"What's going on?" he mouthed.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm going to be out of town for a little while, let me call you when I get back."

"I can always come see Greg," Morgan said. "I want to wish Natalee and her man well."

"Okay, look. I don't want you here."

"I don't care," Morgan said. "I'm your sister and I'm coming." She hung up before Luca could protest any more.

"Shit."

"What's going on?"

"Morgan is coming."

"Here?"

She nodded.

"Now?"

She shrugged, frowning.

"Well, it's going to take eight hours for her to drive here. Want to do it again?"

Luca looked at him with disgust and pulled a shirt on over her head before walking out of the room.

"I was joking, Luca. …Kind of."

* * *

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Luca looked up at Greg, piles of clothes in her hands. "What does it look like? Cleaning."

"Why?"

"Morgan is critical, in case you weren't aware," she said stuffing her hamper into her closet and trying to shut the door.

"Why do you care what she thinks?"

She didn't know.

"She's my big sister, I guess," Luca reasoned. "I've always cared what she thought."

"But, why?"

She paused. "I guess it's because I love her."

"You love your sister?"

"I know, scary thought," Luca said, throwing Greg's boxers at him.


	12. Favorite Sister

_Chapter Twelve:  
Favorite Sister_

Luca hadn't been out of bed since she finished cleaning. Greg looked at her from the doorway, her head buried in a pillow.

"Luca, come on, get up."

She shook her head.

"Do you want your sister to see you like this?"

Luca flipped over unto her back and Greg walked over, laying next to her.

"Why must you use Morgan against me?"

"Because you can't lay in your bed forever, you have to face her. She's not as bad as you think when you get to know her, you know."

"Yeah, I don't really believe you," Luca said.

Greg shrugged and turned toward her. "What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

"Can one of you, like, answer the phone? I know you're there. I'm in Vegas and I need to know where the apartment is," Morgan said on the answering machine. Natalee, Nick, Greg, and Luca exchanged glances. "Don't make me call Mom, Luca."

Luca sighed and got up from the dining room table, grabbing the phone off the wall.

"Sorry, I just walked in."

"Don't try and bullshit me, Luca."

Luca sucked some air into her mouth. "Where are you?" She listened carefully, telling her exactly where to go, despite the little devil on her shoulder telling her to make her sister turn down a road leading to the desert.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys in a little while. Bye."

Luca hung up. "I think I'm going to take a nap…."

Greg jumped up and grabbed onto her shoulders, wrapping her in his arms. "Do not worry, go it?"

Luca didn't respond, but buried her head in his shoulder.

Nick and Natalee just looked at them, helpless.

Finally, the knock came.

All four stared at the door, no one moved to open it.

"I'll do it," Greg said as if it were the Devil himself at the door instead of a 5'3", 103 pound brunette. He answered the door, mentally preparing himself for anything.

"Gregory Fucking Sanders!" Morgan said, dropping all three of her bags to give him a hug. "How have you been?"

"Fine," he said. "Real good." She looked over his shoulder at Luca.

When she finally let go, she gave Luca a shorter hug and then moved onto Natalee.

"Wow," Morgan said, looking Nick over. "You really outdid yourself this time, Natalee." She laughed. "What a hottie!" She winked at him.

Natalee looked at Luca, like it was her fault Morgan was there. Luca just shrugged and started to drag her bags into the apartment.

"You're going to have to sleep on the couch," Luca informed her.

Morgan looked at her. "I can't, I have back problems."

Greg looked at Luca. "You can stay over my place while she's here." She nodded and went into her room to pack. Greg followed, like she hoped he would.

"I can't believe she's kicking me out of my own room," she said, opening her closet, forgetting the hamper was there. Clothes flew everywhere around the room and Natalee, Nick, and Morgan appeared suddenly at the doorway as a reaction to the noise.

"You are going to pick that up, right?" Morgan said, looking around the room with disgust.

"Of course, we will, princess," Greg retorted.

Morgan looked taken aback for a second, then snapped back. "And those sheets? You had sex on them, didn't you? Change those." She spun around and left the room.

Greg helped an obviously upset Luca clean the room up and pack.

"I can't take much more of this."

"Then it's good that you're coming to my place, right?" Greg smiled. "And I think I know what will cheer you up."

* * *

Luca sat with her legs over Greg's, sucking on a spoon with Ben & Jerry's, and watching _Casablanca_.

"I wonder what's going on back at the apartment," she said, smiling.

"I don't care," he said, kissing her. "We finally have all the privacy in the world. Hallelujah!"

"Well, soon Nat's going to be moving out…."

"I know, that's exciting," he said.

"Yeah, and I'll be in that two-room apartment I can't afford…." Luca hoped he'd finally ask her to move in, but he obviously wasn't taking the hint. She sighed and let it go.

He looked at her. "Hey, Luca?"

"Yeah?" She perked up.

"Can I have some of that Chunky Monkey?"

* * *

"Hey, Nick," Morgan smiled groggily, walking into the kitchen in her shortest pajama shorts and midriff-baring tank top.

"Hi."

"Where are the bowls?"

He pointed to the cabinet, trying not to look up from his newspaper more than he had to.

Morgan stood on her tiptoes, trying to reach a bowl, hoping Nick would give her a glance, and when he didn't, she took it to the next level.

"I can't seem to reach them," she said, giggling.

He got up and walked over to her and in one fell swoop, grabbed a green bowl and handed it to her.

"Well, thanks, honey." She smiled, touching his bicep. "Wow. Do you work out?"

He shrugged and was about to say something until Natalee came into the kitchen. She attempted not to explode, Morgan's hand not moving.

"Really got yourself a silent type here, Natalee." Morgan moved to another counter to pour herself some cereal.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ever _not_ dress like a slut?"

Morgan stopped with her hand on the refrigerator door and looked at her. "Excuse me?"

"I think you heard what I said," Natalee challenged her.

Nick looked on, half hopeful for a catfight.

"Bitch, do _not_ get me started."

"Please do," Natalee said.

Nick decided now was the time to step in. "Okay, both of you. Stop, please. Luca doesn't need more shit from either of you."

"What did I ever do to Luca? It's all this bitch's fault!" Natalee shouted.

Nick held his head. "It doesn't matter!"

"Nick, you should be taking my side," she informed him.

Morgan rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Since when is this a rule? He can take whosever side he wants."

"Fuck that shit."

"I'm not taking sides!"

"That's great language you have, Natalee."

"Fuck you both. Hell, go fuck each other. You both obviously like one another."

"What? What are you talking about, Nat?" Nick shouted.

Natalee ran into her room, threw on clothes and pushed past Nick, who was trying to keep her from going out the door, and ran down to her car.

"Shit," he said. "I can see why you're Luca's favorite sister," was all he said before heading out after Natalee.


	13. Prom Night

_Chapter Thirteen:  
Prom Night_

"Hello?"

"Luca?"

"Yeah, who is this?" She asked into Greg's phone.

"Nick. Natalee ran away and she took my car. I'm afraid she did something drastic."

"She took your car?"

"Yeah!"

Luca couldn't help but laugh. "Well, have you tried to call her cell phone?"

"She's pissed at me! She won't answer."

"I'll try to call her. I'll let you know what happens." She hung up, Greg staring at her. "Natalee went AWOL."

Greg shook his head and finished making their eggs while she dialed Natalee's cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Nat, what the fuck is going on?"

"Your damn sister's ruining everyone's lives!"

"She's moving up from just me?" Luca pulled herself onto the kitchen counter.

"Apparently so," Natalee said. "I'll come pick you up, we'll talk."

Luca laughed. "Yeah, about that…. Who's car are you driving?"

"Nick's."

"Why? Last time I checked, you have a car."

"But Nick bought _this_ gas. It's revenge," Natalee replied.

"I thought it was _Morgan_ screwing up your life."

"It's both of them, really," Natalee said without expanding.

"Okay…."

Greg looked at Luca. "What's going on?"

"She stole Nick's car and--"

"Holy shit," Natalee said from the other end.

Luca asked, concerned, "What?"

"I just rear-ended some guy! In Nick's car! Holy shit!" Natalee shouted.

"And she just crashed it," Luca informed Greg. "Where are you Natalee? We're coming to get you."

Greg shook his head.

"Damn. That girl cannot drive and talk at the same time."

* * *

"Nick, she got into a car accident. Take her car. …The keys? I don't know! …Look on her nightstand if they're not in the kitchen." Luca shouted on her cell phone while Greg sped down the strip, not as dazzling in the late morning sun as it was at night.

"Shit," Greg said.

"What?" Luca asked, looking up at the windshield. "Oh, fuck. Hurry, Nick."

"What is it?" Nick pleaded.

"Just hurry!"

Luca slammed the phone shut and jumped out of the slowing car. "Natalee! Stop!"

Natalee and the short, balding man were screaming at each other at the tops of their lungs, their fists clenched.

"Hey, hey." Luca ran between them.

"That bitch wants me to keep this quiet!" the fat man screamed, his face getting more and more red. "She gave me whiplash!"

Luca rolled her eyes. "The way that you're moving your goddamn head around when you scream doesn't help your case, sir."

The man backed down a little. "Fine, but who's paying for this?"

"I said I would, just don't call the cops, okay?"

"Alright, alright."

They exchanged information and were on their way without any real damage.

"Fuck singing, you should be a lawyer," Natalee said.

"I will when you pay for my law school."

* * *

Luca looked into her room as Morgan packed her bags. She looked up.

"What?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you," Luca said.

"Well, that's touching," Morgan said with sarcasm.

Luca sat on her bed next to one of Morgan's suitcases. "I do. No matter how bad you screw up."

Morgan glared. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Flirting with Natalee's fiancé…."

"It just was innocent flirting," she reasoned.

Luca shook her head, looking away. "Why can't you just admit you were wrong?"

Morgan ignored the question. "Well, now you can go back to fornicating in _your_ bed."

She didn't reply.

"You know that he's only with you because he can't have me, right?"

Luca looked at Morgan. "What?"

"Greg," Morgan said.

Luca whispered, hurt, "You know that's not true."

She laughed. "Guess he never told you…."

"Told me what?"

"Prom night" was all she needed to say for Luca to understand what happened between her and Greg.


	14. The Next Move

_Chapter Fourteen:  
The Next Move_

Luca decided to go about this rationally, a new concept for her. When Greg crawled into bed next to her, she knew exactly how she was going to react, but was afraid by how he was going to.

"Hey, Greg," she said.

"Hmm?"

"I've got a question for you…."

He turned onto his side, facing her. "Okay, go ahead."

She turned her face toward him, still on her back, covered by Greg's comforter. Her mouth went dry for a second, until she realized he was at fault, not her.

"When did you lose your virginity?"

Greg looked away for a second, silent. "It sounds like you already know."

"Well, I'd kind of like to hear it from you," she said, obviously pissed.

"It was completely impulsive," he justified.

"I want to hear _exactly_ what you did, from you."

"I had sex with Morgan on prom night. We were drunk and--"

Luca shook her head. "I don't want your excuses, Greg."

"Then I don't know what to tell you," he said. "I regret it but I can't change the past."

"Well you could have told me. No," Luca said, getting more upset. "No. You _should_ have told me."

"I just figured it didn't matter," Greg said. "It's the past," he stressed again.

Luca shot up. "Of course it matters, it's my sister! I thought you always liked _me_!" She slammed her fists onto the bed.

"I did. I do. It was an accident," Greg said.

So much for the rational idea. "Fuck! Accident? An accident is Natalee ramming into a car. This is not an accident. It's a travesty!"

"You're overreacting, Lu."

"Overreacting? I think you're under-reacting." Luca jumped out of the bed and threw on her clothes. "Sex isn't just something that doesn't matter. Sex matters! Especially with my _sister_! Not saying anything about is a zillion times worse!"

Greg got out of bed, too, grabbing Luca so she couldn't leave.

"Get off me, Greg."

"I'm not on you. Just listen to me, okay?" Greg asked. "Then, then you can leave."

Luca retreated to the head of the bed and sat by the pillow.

"Can I sit next to you?"

She took a deep breath and shook her head, looking out the window.

"Okay, I'll stay here," he said. "We all went to prom and then someone was having a party so our whole group decided to go. We got bombed and one thing led to another. It was an accident and we talked about it the next day." He inched closer to Luca. "We promised we'd never tell anyone. I love you more than anything and I wouldn't have kept it from you but…"

"What?"

"Would this have changed--you and me--if you know that?" Greg asked.

"I don't think so, no. I just wish you could be honest with me, Greg."

"Well, I'm honestly sorry."

* * *

Nick stood in the hallway, not sure what was going to happen, but knowing he had to make the first move. He knocked on Natalee and Luca's door, hoping Natalee wasn't going to be the one to open it for fear that she was just going to close it in his face.

After a few awful seconds of waiting, Natalee opened the door.

"I--"

Natalee looked at him and he stopped trying to squeeze the words out of his swelling throat.

"I'm sorry," Natalee said.

They stood in the hallway in silence for another few seconds before she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around him, and kissing him long and hard.

"Frank," Mrs. Knox said, carrying groceries behind her husband. "Why don't you kiss me like that anymore?"

* * *

"Can I ask you a question?"

Greg looked across the McDonald's table at Luca. He paused a while before answering. "Is this going to be a scary question that ruins my life?"

"…Maybe," she answered honestly.

He looked at her uneasily, putting down his Big Mac.

"Can I ask?"

"In McDonald's?"

"Why not?" Luca shrugged.

"This isn't going to be about sex then, right?"

She shook her head.

"Ask away then," he said, still unsure.

"We're serious about each other, right?"

He nodded.

"Then why don't you make the next move?" Luca asked, her eyes begging. "I feel like we're stuck in a rut, Greg."

"What's the next move?"

She shrugged and shook her head, sorry she said anything. "I-I don't know."

"Marriage?"

"Not necessarily, but we can't just live like this forever, can we?"

"Why not?" Greg asked, obviously satisfied with his life.

Luca held her head in her hands. "Don't you want kids some day?"

"I guess."

"With me?"

"Yes."

She was happy to hear that answer. "Well, are we going to switch the kids from my apartment to yours?"

"Oh," Greg said. "You want to move in to my place. Why didn't you just ask?"

"Ask if _I_ could move into _your_ place?"

"Yeah."

Luca laughed and shook her head. "You're supposed to ask _me_."

Greg got up from the plastic seat and knelt on one knee in front of her.

"Luca, will you move in with me?"

She laughed and kissed him while the counter help and few customers in the restaurant just stared.


	15. Easier Said Than Done

_Chapter Fifteen:  
Easier Said Than Done_

Luca was careful to keep the news about the new living arrangement away from her mother, though she knew she couldn't keep it from her dad.

"Hey, Lu, that's great," Bernard said. "Greg's a great kid, honey."

She smiled. "Yeah, I know. I love him, Daddy."

"And he loves you, too."

"I know," she beamed. "Just…don't tell, Mom? Okay? The last thing I need is her jumping down my throat right before Natalee's wedding."

"I won't, sweetie. Promise."

"Thanks, Dad. See you in a few days, okay?"

"Bye, Luca. Love you. Tell Greg I said 'hello.'"

"Sure," she said before hanging up.

Greg walked back from the bathroom and sat with her on the couch. "How'd he take it."

She smiled. "Great. I told you he's be awesome about it. It's my mom that is going to flip out." She shrugged. "What about your parents?"

"They didn't care," he said with a laugh. "They're happy it was you. They absolutely loved you in high school."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Greg said. "More than Morgan."

"Well, the only one that loves Morgan more than me is my mother." Luca laughed and then shrugged. "And I don't really care."

"When will you tell_her_?"

She shook her head. "I don't plan to."

"Well, why do you care what she thinks?"

Luca chuckled. "Probably for the same reason I care what Morgan thinks: I love her. I don't want to hurt her."

"You won't hurt her by telling her the truth."

"Greg, I don't want to fight about this. I'm not going to tell her." She shook her head again, but harder. "I'm just not going to do it."

* * *

Natalee sat on Nick's couch, looking around the living room.

He looked at her. "Are you watching the movie?"

"Yeah. Yeah," she said.

He nodded and turned his face back to the TV. "Okay."

"It's just that--never mind."

"What, Natalee?"

"Nothing. It's stupid…."

"If you don't tell me, I'll be wondering about it through the movie. Please?"

Natalee drew in a breath before she started. "Are you worried about us living together? Being married?"

Nick thought about this for a minute. "Kind of."

"Are you serious?" Natalee shouted.

"Calm down, Nat," he said. He chuckled a second and then continued, "We'll work out whatever comes our way. You know that."

She nodded. "I know. But I'm scared."

"Don't worry, okay?"

Natalee nodded, knowing that that statement was easier said than done.

* * *

Luca looked at the door then at Greg, shrugged, then got up. She wasn't expecting anyone. She opened the door and gasped.

"Mom? What are you doing here? The wedding's not until Saturday."

"Why do you _think_ I'm here, Luca?"

She played dumb. "I don't know, Mom."

Flo kicked open the door. "Well, honey, it has something to do with all those box."

"You're upset that Natalee's moving into her husband's house?"

"Those aren't all Natalee's, Luca and you know it," Flo said. "Come on. They say 'Luca' right there!" She pointed. "Do not lie to me." She eyed Greg.

"Hello, Mrs. Newman. You look lovely today." Greg smiled.

"And don't try to sweet-talk me either." She put her hands on her hips in true mother fashion. "Well, are you going to let me in?"

"Are you going to freak out and be hostile?"

"I make no promises," Flo said.

Luca rolled her eyes and stepped aside, closing the door behind her mother.

Flo sat on the couch next to Greg, forcing Luca to sit on the opposite side of the couch from him. "So, why are you two doing this?"

She thought it was so simple. "We love each other, Mom," Luca stated the obvious.

"How could you two know what love is? You're so young!"

"We're not getting any younger, Mom."

"Greg, do not call me 'Mom'…."

Luca laughed while Flo continued, "unless you're about to slip a ring on my daughter's finger."

"Funny you should say that," Greg said, smiling. Flo looked at him uneasily while he stood up and fished in his pocket. "I was kind of hoping to do this under more romantic tenses, but…." He knelt as Nick and Natalee walked in with perfect timing. "Will you marry me, Luca?" The ring sparkled in the sunlight.

"You're shitting me," Luca said.

"Luca Pauline, watch your mouth," Flo said. "And answer him."

"I don't know what to say."

"'Yes' would be a good start," Greg said.

She didn't answer.

"Followed by 'I will marry you, Greg.'"

The four stared at a speechless Luca.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, I'll marry you."

Greg shrugged. "I'm satisfied." He grabbed her and wrapped her up in his arms. "Is that okay with you, _Mom_?"

Flo looked at the couple and then at Nick and Natalee. "Okay. But why do you have to move in together now?"

"Mom, please stop whining," Luca said. "I can do what I want, I'm a grown woman."

Flo glared.

"Can you be happy for me for once?" She asked, still embraced by Greg.

Her mother's face softened and she stood up. "Luca, you don't think I'm happy for you?"

"No, you've never said you were proud of me once," she pointed out.

"Well, I am. I'm very proud of you," Flo said. "I've just never wanted you to make your sister's same mistakes. She never did marry Nate. Does she still live with him?" She shook her head. "Anyway, I guess that's why I'm so critical of you. And, I'm sorry."

Luca smiled. "Really?"

Flo nodded. "Of course." She hugged Luca and reluctantly followed suit with Greg. "I'm sure you two will be happy together. And for the record, I'm happy for you."


	16. For Nick

_Chapter Sixteen:  
For Nick_

"So, you ready to tie the knot now?" Kory Frigg, another teacher at Natalee's school and her bridesmaid, asked over a Corona.

"Hell no," Natalee said, drunk and eyeing a male stripper.

Luca laughed uncontrollably and Natalee hit her.

"What the fuck, Nat?"

"You're a hyena."

Luca laughed harder this time.

"Man, I'm so drunk," Kory said, laying down across the cushioned bench of the club.

"Let's get out of here, Natalee," Luca said.

"No," she whined. "I don't want to go. Do you even understand what's going to happen tomorrow?" She turned to face Luca.

"Yeah, you're marrying a man you love," Luca announced, slurring her words slightly. "You're going to be the happiest woman in the world tomorrow."

It might have been more effective if Natalee wasn't half-asleep and on the verge of puking.

* * *

Luca sat next to a shaking Natalee, listening to Bob Dylan on the church's stereo.

"I need a cigarette."

"You don't smoke," Luca pointed out.

"I hear they calm your nerves," Natalee said. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

"Okay."

Luca watched Natalee go into the bathroom and stood up, looking herself in the bride's maid dress, grimacing. She couldn't believe that she had helped pick the ugly dresses out with Natalee. She quickly sat down after a few seconds, anticipating Natalee's return. After five minutes, she started to worry.

"Natalee?" Luca called from behind the door of the church's bathroom. "Are you in there?"

No answer.

"You're scaring the shit--" she stopped remembering she was in a church. "You're scaring me, Nat."

Luca slowly opened the door of the bathroom, finding Natalee's heels on the floor and the window open with a huge piece of ripped white fabric hanging from the corner of it.

"You're kidding me!" She stood on the toilet and looked around for a sign of Natalee. After a second, she jumped off and walked over to the room Nick and his groomsman where, trying not tolead any bystanders on to the problem. She knocked--nay, banged--on the door.

Warrick Brown, Nick's best man, opened the door and Luca pushed her way inside, closing it behind her.

Nick and Greg looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Natalee--how should I put this? She escaped!"

Nick looked at her. "What?"

"You're just overreacting," Greg said.

Luca jumped up and down, freaking out. "I am not. Okay? Just--come here!" She dragged Greg down the hall, followed by Nick and Warrick.

She opened the door to reveal Kory. "Sorry I'm late I--"

"No time to explain, follow," Luca demanded, still holding onto Greg. She headed into the tiny bathroom and they all crammed in. She pointed to the fabric flapping in the breeze.

"No fucking way," Warrick blurted out.

"Well? Don't just gawk! We have to find her!" Luca shouted, jumping again.

They pushed out of the bathroom and looked at each other, not sure where to start looking.

"If I were Natalee where would I be?" Greg wondered aloud.

"Okay," Luca said, taking charge. "I'll check our apartment, Nick, go to your house. …What else is in walking distance from the church?"

They all shrugged.

"Maybe she just wanted a Slurpee," Kory suggested.

Luca rolled her eyes. "Okay, you can check the 7-Eleven up the street."

"The school? She spends lots of her time there," Nick said.

"Warrick, take the school. And Greg…just wander aimlessly," Luca said, trying her best to stay calm.

They split up, waiting until they were out of the church to run amuck.

Luca looked through the storefront windows that she passed, people staring back at her. "Have you seen a blonde in a wedding gown running around here anywhere?" Nobody answered, just watched her tripping over her high heels.

Nick was the only smart one, driving his car to his house, watching out for the tell-tale white poofy dress bobbing down the sidewalk.

Greg stood in front of the church, not sure which way to even start to walk and look for her. Instead, he waved to the people he didn't know that started to flow inside for the wedding. He figured they needed a distraction anyway.

Warrick walked to the school only to find it was locked. He hitched a ride back to the church with Nick.

Kory was the only one with any luck. She ran up to Natalee, sitting on the yellow bumper guards and sipping on a Big Gulp tainted with hint of whiskey borrowed from a wino.

"No one believed me that you'd be here," she informed Natalee.

Natalee didn't look up but continued swinging her dirty bare feet, skimming the pavement.

"Come on," Kory said. "It's time to get married, Natalee."

Natalee shook her head, her gaze fixed on a bottle cap on the ground.

"Natalee! You can't leave Nick at the alter. Think of all the disappointed people."

Natalee shrugged.

"Think of Nick. He'll be so disappointed. He loves you!"

She swallowed and took the lid off her cup, gulping the liquid.

"Natalee, you're going to ruin your dress," Kory stated.

Natalee burst into tears. "It's already ruined!"

"It's just the underskirt, honey. Come on. For Nick."

She stood up, threw her cup away and hiked up her dress. "Let's go."


	17. Dreams

_Chapter Seventeen:  
Dreams_

Other than the runaway bride, the wedding went down without a hitch and the reception just got better as the relatives got more drunk. It hit its peak when Greg started to break dance in the middle of the floor.

"Are you glad you went through with it?" Luca asked as the last few people left the room.

"Yeah." Natalee smiled. "Especially because we're going to Maui in T-minus three hours and then I'm out of the apartment for good."

Luca frowned about her being not being so upset about moving out, but tried to hide it. "Well, have fun."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Luca looked at her. "Nothing."

Natalee linked arms with her and dragged her to the bathroom. "Tell me. I know something's wrong, Lu. I've lived with you for, like, ten years."

"Aren't you a little sad about moving out?"

She shrugged. "Why would I be?"

"Me, Natalee!"

"Luca," Natalee said. "We're still going to see each other, why do we have to live together?"

"It's fun living together."

"It was more fun in college, Luca," she said. "Now we have to move on with our lives, have families. It doesn't mean we can't be best friends still."

Luca nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's just going to be lonely not seeing you walk around in your underwear and telling you everything." She laughed.

Natalee hugged her. "I have the craziest idea."

"What?"

"Let's have babies together."

Luca laughed again. "That's so weird."

"Then they could grow up together, be best friends." Natalee squealed with pleasure. "It's fucking adorable, Luca. Admit it."

"How do you know they'd even like each other?"

"I'll make them like each other," Natalee said, making Luca laugh more. "I'll do what my grandma did and beat them with a wooden spoon," she said as someone walked into the bathroom, giving Natalee a odd look.

Luca smiled.

"Let's go," Natalee said, hugging her.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Being weird about this," Luca said. "You're right. We can't be eighteen for the rest of our lives."

"It's fine," Natalee said, leading Luca out. "Better idea: arranged marriages for our kids."

Luca just laughed and shook her head. "I'm going to miss you."

"Hon, I live right across town. You can come over anytime. Unless we're having sex. So…call first."

"Deal."

* * *

After work, Greg walked into the bedroom in the pitch dark, trying not to wake up Luca. It took everything he had not to turn on the hall light as he walked into the apartment.

"Greg?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "Did I wake you?"

She sat up. "No. I couldn't sleep."

"You've been awake this whole time?"

She flipped on the lamp next to her and closed her eyes while they adjusted. "Yeah."

"Well, what's up?" He said, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling off his pants. He curled up next to her and she smiled.

"I had a gig last night."

"I was there," he reminded her.

"Right. Anyway, after the show, a man came up to me."

"A man?"

"Greg, let me finish. This man offered me a large amount of money to travel around the country."

"How much money?"

"Half a million dollars for six months of work," she said.

Greg sprung up now. "You're kidding me."

"No, I'm not."

"Well, you took it, right?"

"Fuck no!" Luca said still laying down.

"Why, Luca? We would be, like, rich!"

"And we would be away from each other for six months," she pointed out. "Money isn't everything. And anyway…I've been thinking about going back to school. I can probably teach a physics lab at UNLV and get a tuition waiver. Eventually, I could work my way up to getting my doctorate and being a professor."

"Is this what _you_ want to do?"

"My dream has always to be happy and I used to think it was going to take money and groupies to make me happy. But, I've never been happier than when I'm with you, Greg."


	18. Tough Love

_Chapter Eighteen:  
Tough Love_

Luca sat in the samespotNatalee wastwo months before, though she was sure she wasn't going to run away. Natalee and a forgiven Morgan sat on either side of her, the same Bob Dylan CD playing on the stereo. Everything was set and Luca just wanted it to be over, thinking about all the relatives she'd never seen before hugging her, her fake smile as they grabbed Greg's face.

The CD ended and the room was silent; no one had anything to say to the other, this wasn't any of their ideas. Flo ran around making adjustments and plans.

Someone knocked on the door and Luca went to open it.

Natalee gasped. "No! What if it's Greg! He can't see you before the wedding."

Luca didn't feel like fighting about how Natalee's superstitious and signs were pointless. Instead she let Natalee push her behind the door while she opened it and talked to Bernard outside who said it was almost time.

Luca's heart started to beat faster as Bernard took her arm and led her down the aisle. She squeezedit as she passed her grandmothers, who were crying, and she gave him a hug and a kiss at the alter. It finallystarted: beautiful, traditional, and she was sure it was going to be the happiest day in her life.

* * *

The wedding party sat in a row, high above everyone else, making Luca feel like a queen.

Natalee stared at Morgan.

"What!"

"It's open bar but you don't you think you should take a break?"

Morgan finished her rum and Coke.

"Remember, you're making a speech tonight," Natalee reminded her.

"I'll be fine," Morgan snapped. "Okay? It's going to be great." Her words were already slurring together when she went up for another drink.

Natalee shook her head, but knew there was nothing she could do without ruining the reception all together for Luca and Greg.

Morgan grabbed the microphone suddenly. "Okay! Speech time."

Luca looked at her, shaking her head but everyone else laughed. She looked at Greg and he, too, was laughing at the drunken Morgan.

"I didn't think that Luca would be the one getting married first, to be honest with you people." She paused. "Of course, she's not the whore in the family."

A few of the older members of the audience gasped a little, but in general, everyone was enjoying this.

"No, Luca was always the pride and joy until she decided she was going to be a singer and ended up living off our parents money." She turned to Luca. "Smart idea, Lu. Oh, and when she moved in with Greg and my dad let it out of the bag to our mom. Other than that, everyone loves her."

Someone should have stopped her therebut they were either too in awe of what she was doing or in hysterics because she was drunk doing it.

"I've known Luca her whole life. I loved her the moment I saw her and I never told her."

Luca's eyes welled up.

"We always played together with these kids down the street and she had her first kiss with one of them…Rory! Yes, Rory. Rory told the whole neiborhood that she was the worst kisser on the block."

"Oh, my God," Luca said, covering her head. "Is someone going to do something about this?" She looked at Bernard hopefully.

He got up from his seat just as Morgan made her grand finale.

"And Greg, we've known each other for a long time, too. He used to stalk me! I finally let him fuck me on prom night." She struggled to pull the microphone from Bernard. "I'm not done yet."

"Yes, you are," he said.

Luca got up and walked to the bathroom. Everyone had stopped laughing and no one spoke. Greg followed her.

"Greg, this is the ladies room."

"I don't care," he said.

"I can't believe she ruined my wedding!" Luca shouted. "I'm leaving. I'm so embarrassed."

"I am, too, honey. You think my parents knew that?" Greg shrugged like it was no big deal. "We have to go on with life. She does stupid things…especially when she's drunk. We're going to have to go back in there and suck it up, okay?"

"I can't," she said, sobbing.

Natalee walked in. "Greg, this is the ladies room."

"So I've heard."

She shook her head and decided to try to convince Luca everything was okay. "Lu, you know she's a big fat idiot and she's going to screw up our life, but she's your sister. You're stuck with her for the rest of your life. So, what I'm saying is suck it up."

Luca looked at her, wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked out of the bathroom.

"Tough love, Greg," Natalee said. "Works every time."


	19. Nine Months

_Chapter Nineteen:  
Nine Months_

They sat on the edge of the bathtub, waiting for the results.

"If it's a girl, what would you name her?"

"I don't want to jinx it, Greg," Luca said.

"Who are you? Since when do you believe in jinxes?"

She shrugged. "Living with Natalee has left me with a lot of different perspectives on life."

"Like what?"

"It's not all coincidences. Things happen for a reason," Luca noted.

"You really think that?"

She shrugged again. "Why not? Look at us, if my car hadn't broken down I'd be in New York City or something right now."

"New York?" Greg took his eyes off of the plastic stick on the counter and placed them on Luca. "Is that where you were going?" He smiled. "You never did tell me."

"I'm not sure where I was going, really. I just drove. I like just driving aimlessly," she said.

"Clearly." He put his arms around her as the egg timer went off. "Time's up. Ready to look at the test?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Do the honors?"

"Sure--" He was interrupted by a knock.

Luca looked at Greg. "We should get that."

"Lu, I'm dying to know," he said.

"Then I'll go answer it," she said as the knocks got louder. "I know it's Natalee."

"We need to do this together, it's only going to take a second."

Natalee pounded.

"Fine, look," she said. "Before Natalee gets the battering ram and breaks down the door."

Greg grabbed it and turned it at an angle so Luca couldn't see it. "Interesting," he said with a straight face.

"Come on," she said, trying not to laugh.

"I know you guys are in there!" Natalee shouted.

"The neighbor's are going to call the cops."

Greg turned the pregnancy test toward her and she screamed. "Greg! We're going to be parents!"

"I know, honey," she said, squeezing her in his arms.

The knocking continued as they left the bathroom together.

They opened the door to reveal an excited Natalee and an embarrassed Nick.

"Hey, I'm pregnant," Natalee said to Greg and Luca's neighbor. "I can pound on people's doors if I want to."

The neighbor gave her the finger and yelled something in Spanish.

Luca pulled Natalee and Nick inside.

"You're pregnant?" Luca asked, stunned.

"Yeah," Natalee said.

"Did you really need to make a scene like that?" Greg asked. "They're our neighbors!"

"Not for long," Luca reminded him.

Natalee looked at her curiously. "You guys are moving?"

Luca nodded.

"Why?"

"Lu's pregnant, too," Greg said. "We put a deposit down on an apartment near you guys."

"You're pregnant!"

"Yes!"

"Both of us are pregnant! At the same time," Natalee remarked. "This is _not_ a coincidence, Luca. Admit it!"

"Luca and Natalee both with mood sings?" Greg looked at the girls. "Disaster is more like it."

* * *

"Do you love it?" Luca asked her dad.

"It's really nice, sweetie," he said, carrying boxes into their new apartment.

She knew that he was just saying that and she knew that the apartment was a dump, but she didn't mind. She knew it was going to work out for best.

"The high school's across the street so we could basically live here forever."

"You don't want a house for your child to grow up in?"

Luca ignored her mother's question. "And there's a playground in the back of the complex and a pool. It's really great, guys. Right, Greg?"

Greg looked at her, setting down a box. "Yeah. Absolutely."

She nodded and smiled at her parents.

"This place _is_ up to code, right?"

"Of course, Mom," Luca said.

Her parents left to get the crib and she looked at Greg, nearly in tears. "They can never be happy for me, can they?"

Greg put his hand on her swelling stomach. "They just want the best for you, Luca."

"Well, this is the best we can do."

"I know," he said, soothing her. "Just don't worry about what they think; it's about what we think. And I think this place is perfect for us."

* * *

Almost nine months into the ordeal, the girls were inseparable.

"Do you know where Natalee is?" Nick said over the phone.

"In our bed." Greg sighed.

"You're kidding."

"They won't leave each other's side, it's--"

"Endearing?"

"Something like that," Greg said, bitterly. "Now where am I going to sleep?"

"Don't ask me, man," Nick said. "Good luck with that."

Greg stood in the hallway, the dial tone the only thing coming from the other end of the phone. He walked down the hall toward the baby's room. Looking around at the yellow paint. It all hadn't sunk in yet, though. He walked over to the crib, trying to imagine the baby in it. He tried to think about what the next eighteen, thirty, fifty years were going to be like, but it was a mystery to him and that made him even more happy.

* * *

"Aww," Luca said, standing above Greg. "Natalee! Quick!"

Natalee waddled into the nursery and laughed at the sight: Greg asleep on the floor.

Greg looked up at the girls, their faces eclipsed by their huge stomachs. "What happened? Where am I?"

"In the nursery," one of the stomachs said.

He lifted his head and looked around, a rug indent on his face. He sat up.

"How was the sleep?"

"Great, thanks for making me sleep there, Nat," Greg said.

Natalee shrugged. "I should call Nick…." She left to find the phone.

Luca sat on the rocking chair in the corner. "I want this baby out."

"Me, too," Greg said, smiling. "I can't wait to hold it, you know?"

Luca grinned too and nodded.

"Do you think we're going to be good parents?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Why?"

"We both had great parents to raise us."

He smiled. "That's true."

"And we're surrounded by people that will help us grow into the role. We've really got it good, Greg."

Greg nodded. "We do."


	20. Falling Into Place

_Chapter Twenty:  
Falling Into Place_

"What's going on in there?" Luca asked Greg, as if he knew. They sat in the pristine hospital waiting room right outside of the hustle and bustle of the hallway. Luca watched nurses and wheelchairs go by the windows. Her fingers were intertwined with Greg's and she squeezed them every so often.

"I'm sure everything's fine," he had repeated for what felt likethe millionth time.

"I hate waiting," Luca whined.

"You waited nine months for this," he reminded her.

She sighed and watched an old lady shuffle up to them in her slippers.

"How far along are you, dear?"

"She's about to burst any second now," Greg answered, smiling awkwardly.

"May I?" She put her hand out toward her stomach.

"Sure."

The old woman touched Luca's stomach.

"The baby's kicking," Luca said.

"It's a she, both of them," the lady said before going on her way.

Luca looked at Greg in awe and he rolled his eyes.

"She's probably a mental patient, Lu," he said.

"How would she know there's two babies?" She said, her eyes wide. "Nat's not here. I don't look like I'm having twins, do I?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said.

"If both of these babies are girls, swear to God, I'm going to adopt that little old lady and keep her in the kitchen."

Greg shook his head. "Well,both of them arenot going to be girls."

"Got a better prediction?"

He shrugged and was cut off by Nick running in fromthe hallway. "It's a girl!"

Luca raised her eyebrows at Greg. He shook his head.

"We named her Ophelia Constance."

"Can we see the girls?" Luca asked, jumping up suddenly.

* * *

"Did you see her?"

"She's beautiful," Luca told her, nodding. Her stomach rested on her crossed legs as she sat on the chair next to Natalee's bed.

"When's that one coming out?"

"Soon, I hope."

Natalee looked too tired to talk. "Well, it's totally worth it."

"I bet. Especially when they give you the epidural."

She smiled, too exhausted to laugh. "I bet you want it out, huh?"

"It's a she," Luca informed her.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Luca explained about the old woman and Greg not believing her.

"I want this lady. I want her as my new grandmother," Natalee said, chuckling.

"You'd love her, Nat." She smiled. "That's going to be you when Ophelia gets tired of you, wandering around the hospital predicting the future."

Natalee smiled at the notion also.

"Well, you need sleep," Luca said.

"Wake me up if _she_ comes," Natalee said, looking at Luca's stomach.

* * *

"Luca?"

She opened her eyes slowly, not expecting to see Morgan sitting next to her in the hospital chair.

"I didn't mean to wake you but I'm leaving soon," she said.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She was too exhausted to sit up or raise her voice so she turned on her side away from Morgan's tanned face instead.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for everything. And I love you. And I'm getting help for my alcohol problem," Morgan said. "And I really want to be a part of my niece's life."

Luca buried her head in her pillow, the tears welling in her eyes. She still couldn't figure out if it was because she was happy or upset about Morgan being there.

"You don't have to forgive me now, but at least think about it?"

She swallowed her pride andturned onto her back again. "I forgive you."

"Really?"

Luca nodded. "You're my sister. You're all I have."

"I want to move to Vegas to get closer to you and the baby," she said.

"Her name's Valeria. It means valor and strength," Luca informed Morgan.

She smiled. "I like it."

Greg looked in from the hallway unobtrusively, both sets of Valeria's grandparents behind him.

* * *

Luca watched Greg holding Valeria, concealed by the swinging kitchen door. He was so gentle and natural with her, as was Nick with Ophelia. She and Natalee joked about the menbeing so maternal, which they didn't appriciate much, but all four knew it was true.

They _were_ good parents.

Luca sat next to Greg on the couch.

"Want to hold her?"

She shook her head. "She's so peaceful in your arms, I'd hate to upset her."

"I can't believe we made this little thing," Greg said with pride.

"Me either. She's perfect."

"She really is." Greg touched her smooth cheek and then her soft hair.

They watched Valeria sleep in silence for a long time, caught up in the silence that was so infrequent.

Luca smiled suddenly, thinking about how she was going to start classes in the fall and how she was so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people.

"What?" Greg asked, noticing the grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"Everything feels so right," she said.

"Like what?"

"My whole life. I finally feel like everything's finally falling into place."

**The End**

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**A.N.** It's been fun writing and I just wanted to acknowledge everyone who left me reviews and encouraged me and gave me tips. Thank you!


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